United Arab Emirates

Citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council GCC nations do not require a visa, may enter using a National ID card, and may stay, work and travel in the Emirates indefinitely.

Citizens of the European Union except Ireland and the United Kingdom, Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, Seychelles, Switzerland and Vatican City do not require a visa for stays of up to 90 days within a 180 day period.

Citizens of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, United Kingdom and the United States, in addition to persons holding British National Overseas passports may obtain a free visa on arrival valid for 30 days. Extension is possible for a fee.

Several other countries are eligible for free hotel/tour-sponsored tourism visas. See UAE Interact (http://www.uaeinteract.co...) for the latest details.

All other nationalities will be required to apply for a visa in advance, which will require a sponsor from inside the UAE. Your travel agent will usually be able or arrange this for you if you book your hotel through them.

The UAE and Israel do not have diplomatic relations, and as such Israeli passports will not be recognised at the border. Holders of Israeli passport need to make advance arrangements for an entry permit. If you are travelling for business with a UAE company, they would normally be able to organise it fairly quickly; chances of getting one for tourism purposes are very small unless you are a high net worth individual; your specialist travel agent should be able to advise on it in such case. However, despite much online misinformation to the contrary, Israeli visa stamps are — by official policy (http://www.uaeembassyuk.n...) — not a problem at all, and neither is having been born in Israel or Palestine.

If you are travelling from India not sure of procedure from other countries, please get a stamp of 'OK to Board'. Most of the times, it is arranged by your travel agent. In case he hasn't then as soon as you get your Visa; take your Visa, Passport and Ticket to your Airlines office and get the stamp of 'OK to board'. Without this you might not be allowed to travel to UAE.

Customs Regulations

Each non-muslim adult can bring in four items of alcohol , eg four bottles of wine, or four bottles of spirits, or four cases of beer regardless of alcohol content.

The UAE takes an infamously strict line on medicines, with many common drugs, notably anything with containing codeine, diazepam Valium or dextromethorphan Robitussin being banned unless you have a notarized and authenticated doctor's prescription. Visitors breaking the rules, even inadvertently, have found themselves deported or jailed. The US Embassy to the UAE maintains an unofficial list (http://abudhabi.usembassy...) of what may not be imported. However, as many people have noticed even when having all the correct documentations in both English and Arabic have not been enough to be able to bring in some medication and have resulted in both refusal of entry into the UAE and in some cases fines or jail time. It is advised not bring any kind of medication with you if you can manage without them.

Don't even think about bringing in narcotics: possession of even trace amounts leads to a minimum of four years in prison. Using Khat/qat a flowering plant that contains an alkaloid called cathinone which is popular in other nearby countries notably Yemen is also illegal, with life prison sentences possible.

By plane

By plane

The main hub for air transport in the United Arab Emirates is Dubai airport, which is served by several major airlines, most notably Dubai-based Emirates (http://www.emirates.com/). Direct flights connect Dubai to Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town , London, Sydney, Melbourne, Karachi, Tehran, Riyadh, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hong Kong, Paris, Zurich, Frankfurt, Houston, Milan, Madrid, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, São Paulo and many other major cities in Europe, Asia, Australia, North America and Africa.

After Dubai, the airport at Abu Dhabi has the next best international connections. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways (http://www.etihadairways.com) now offers direct flights from New York, Toronto and many other airports in Europe and Asia.

For low-cost flights, Air Arabia (http://www.airarabia.com) has set up a hub at Sharjah airport which is very close to Dubai, and flies there from many cities in the Middle East and India.

By ship

By ship

There is a large network of dhows which transport goods throughout the Gulf and India. It may be possible to buy passage on one of these boats. They call at all coastal cities in the UAE, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

By car

By car

There is road access to the United Arab Emirates from Saudi Arabia in the south and Oman in the east. All highways in the UAE are in excellent condition, but there is a huge amount of traffic between Sharjah and Dubai, as well as a 4 AED charge to cross the Salik toll gate. A prepaid Salik Tag is required for this.

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